Morning, Midday, Night
by Gummysaur
Summary: A series of one-shots taking place in the morning, middle of the day, then finally night. Takes place after Episode 63-what happened in those two years before the Elrics separated? On Day 4: Reckless, kitties, and airplanes in the rain.
1. Chapter 1

**Another FMA story! This one takes place the day after episode 63, but instead of the Elrics not going home for a while and letting Al get his strength back, I imagined they went directly home as soon as everything was over…and these shenanigans went down!**

* * *

_Morning_

* * *

Ed yawned and opened his eyes, locking onto the window. He could see the sun rising over the mountain, faintly blurry from the dawn mist that hadn't burnt up yet.

_No nightmares, _he realized with a faint smile. He waited for a "Good morning, brother," from his right, following by metal clanging, but nothing happened. He turned, and as soon as he rolled over, a weight was thrown upon him.

"Oomph!"

"Brother! Brother!" Ed recognized Al's voice cheering at him.

"Wh-huh?" Ed mumbled groggily, still waking up.

"I slept! I fell asleep!" Al shook Ed's shoulders with his thin arms.

Ed stared at Al for a moment, his eyes and his long, blond hair that had yet to be cut. Then he gave Al a huge grin.

"Yeah, me too. Now come on, lets get breakfast."

Al leaped off Ed, making him wince. "Man, wasn't it yesterday you could barely stand?" Ed grumbled, rubbing his new arm. It ached madly, considering it was so much weaker compared to his other one.

"Yeah, but Pinako made this walking cane for me," he said, gesturing to a long stick he was leaning on. Ed shrugged and leaped out of bed.

"Try not to choke on apple pie and get sick this time," Ed joked.

Al pouted. "Hey, I haven't eaten in three years. Not my fault that my stomach's the size of a peanut."

Ed rolled his eyes and started grabbing clothes to change out of his pajamas. He caught Al staring at him in shock.

"Eh? Whats the matter?"

"Brother, you're-you _grew_!"

Ed stopped dead for a moment.

"I-wha?"

"You grew like, a couple inches overnight!" Al spluttered. "I mean, without the stupid elevator shoes and that silly antennae!"

Ed stumbled for the mirror and his eyes widened when he realized it was true. Ed whooped and ran to Al.

"I grew! I grew, Al, holy crap! And I didn't need any milk to do it!" Ed cheered.

"It must be because my body is out of the Gate," Al speculated. "So I'm guessing you can expect more growing spurts before long."

Ed's face spread into such a happy grin that Al couldn't help but smile back.

"Everyone's gonna notice! Everyone's gonna say, Ed, you grew, you're taller! I can't believe it! Our dreams have come _true_, Al! You got your body, I got-well, I wasn't short in the first place, but you get me, right?! Oh man, I finally broke the five foot mark!" Al stifled a laugh as Ed yelled at the walls, pacing around the room, _happy_ about his height for once. "Haha! Oh god, I can't even prepare for the look on Colonel Bastard's face when he sees-!" Ed trailed off. "…Or, er, well…when I tell him, I guess…"

The excitable mood quickly burnt off as they both remembered the events that had happened just yesterday.

"Come on, I bet Pinako and Winry are expecting us," Al broke in after a while.

"Yeah. Let me just change firs-oh man, imagine if my coat doesn't fit! That'd be great! Haha!"

Al rolled his eyes good-naturedly and got his clothes to change into. After a while (with Ed rather disgruntled that his clothes still fit) they stepped out into the kitchen. Winry looked up from a book titled Automail Advanced and cracked a grin.

"Good morning, you two!" she greeted happily.

"Morning, Winry," the brothers replied in unison.

Al tried not to giggle. He could practically _feel _Ed's anticipation, and could almost hear him thinking, _say it, say it, say it!_

"…Ed, is it just me, or-"

"I AM taller, thank you for asking!" Ed shouted loudly enough to startle Den.

"Well, I guess you look a little taller, considering you're not wearing your shoes. But I was going to say that your hair isn't brushed yet."

Ed deflated slightly and Pinako walked into the room.

"We got breakfast cooked up," she greeted. Ed pursed his lips, waiting for any comment on his height, but none came. Ed gave a sigh of frustration and plopped himself at the table.

* * *

_Midday_

* * *

"Hey, Colonel Bastard!"

Ed kicked the door open loudly, and the two brothers burst (or more like waddled, since Al didn't have the strength to burst anywhere quite yet) into Mustang's hospital room. The man fixed his misty gaze somewhere near Ed's head.

"It's not kind of you to call a blind man a bastard, Fullmetal," he said drily.

"I'll call your blind ass whatever I want," Ed said, walking over and plopping himself onto the side of the bed. Al followed a bit more slowly and sat next to Ed. Finally, Mustang's gaze found Ed's. Since the colonel couldn't see him, his gaze was unusually intense, as if squinting enough would give him back what Truth had taken.

"So, you wet match, I'll have you know I grew at _least_ three inches overnight, so I'm not a _pipsqueak_ anymore. Not like I ever was or anything."

"Oh, really? How convenient the day after I can't see anymore you just happen to have a huge growth spurt. Nice try."

"Nope, it's true," Al put in softly.

Mustang's head jerked up in surprise. "Alphonse?"

"Yep."

"Well, I guess you wouldn't lie, unless Fullmetal here has an exceptional impression of you, or he paid you. I don't doubt he'd be that desperate."

Ed made a face at him, realized he couldn't see it, then decided to let out a loud, angry sigh instead.

"Truth should've taken your damn tongue, that would've been better," he muttered.

"Then who would be able to call you short? Five-foot-one is still shorter than a normal teenager."

Ed seethed. "Who're you calling so small that-!" a sharp pain raced up Ed's new arm. He winced and grabbed the shoulder.

"Brother, are you alright?" Al asked in concern.

"Yeah, it's just my arm. Still hurts from when Winry picked out the pieces of automail stuck in it." he flexed it gingerly. "Does it look stupid? Having such a teeny arm compared to everything else?"

"I'm sure the arm Truth gave you is actually _bigger _than the rest of your body," Mustang observed.

"Dammit! _You're_ the one in the hospital, you're in no place to make fun of me," Ed snapped.

"Oh, another thing. You kicked the door open, right? I could hear it."

"Yeah, so what?"

"You've kicked my door open approximately eight hundred and sixty four times. You left a dent in my office door."

"Okay?"

"And I wanted you to fix it."

"That'd be nice and all, but I think you forgot that I can't do alchemy." As if to show him, Ed clapped his hands together and shuddered when he didn't feel any alchemical energy rushing through him.

"I realized," Mustang replied smoothly. "I want you to fix it on your own terms."

"Oh, come on," Ed grumbled. "I'll just get Al to do it."

"If you do, I'm kicking you out."

"Out of what?!"

"Hell if I know," and he laughed. Ed smiled, but only because the bastard couldn't see him.

* * *

_Night_

* * *

Al stumbled around with his cane, roaming the hallways.

"Brother? Brother, where'd you go?"

Al continued moving around the halls until he heard a soft cough. He turned and spotted the closet door.

"Brother?" Al asked cautiously, opening the door. He tensed at the sight of Ed sitting on a dusty chair, clutching a photo and staring at it. Ed's teeth were clenched on his lips, and Al saw tears falling down his face.

"Dammit Al, can't some guy get a little privacy around here?" he snapped. His voice cracked right at the end and he whirled his head away from his younger brother, muttering in embarrassment.

"Brother, whats wrong?"

"Nothing," Ed replied automatically.

"Clearly not. You only cry when shit's gotten real."

"And you only _swear_ when shit's gotten real."

Al sighed and backed up, closing the door. Ed wasn't the kind of guy to open up; Al might as well just stop trying to get him to. Ed looked down at the photo again; it was a picture of his mother that he had found in his pillowcase. The sight of it had sent such a shocking tidal wave of memories that his mental fortress was instantly shattered, and he knew he needed somewhere to hide. How embarrassing that Al had seen him cry.

"Mom," he whispered softly to the picture. "I'm sorry I couldn't transmute you correctly." he knew, he knew it was impossible, there was nothing he could've done; but it still ached so bad. Hell, he hadn't even transmuted a female, let alone anything resembling his mother. His stomach contracted painfully at the memory of digging it up, the memory of transmuting her, the memory of Al carrying him through the rain while Ed bled out his life-

"Enough, enough," Ed rasped to himself, shaking his head. "Enough. Thats enough." he forcefully wiped away the tears, blocked out the memories; but his alchemy was gone, and it would take longer than normal to rebuild the mental wall he could always just transmute so quickly.

He opened his pocketwatch, and stared at the date, tears still fresh in his eyes.

"Happy October 3rd," he whispered, then clutched the photo to his chest and finally allowed himself to break.


	2. Chapter 2

_Morning_

* * *

"Ow! Damn!" Ed grumbled under his breath, eyes still screwed shut. He rolled over, a throbbing pain in his shoulder; he realized with great disdain that he had fallen asleep on his still-healing arm. He observed that Al was still asleep, so Ed tried to stay quiet as he rubbed his arm, grimacing in pain occasionally. He felt a surge of embarrassment when he realized that he had no memory of coming to his room; which meant he had cried himself to sleep in the supply closet, which meant he had been carried into his room by someone. Al and Pinako probably didn't have the strength to do it, so…

"Winry…" Ed sighed, his face flushing red. He shoved out the image of Winry tucking him in, probably noticing how wet his cheeks were. He hoped she wouldn't ask if he was alright.

"Mmm…brother?"

"Hey Al. Good morning."

"I fell asleep again," he said happily, then followed by a short groan. "I'm still not used to fatigue. I can't say I enjoy the light burning my eyes and my limbs feeling like lead in the morning. I'm not complaining, though," he added hurriedly. Ed made a grunt of acknowledgement, still massaging his new arm.

"Brother, are you alright?"

Ed tensed, thinking he was talking about last night; then realized Al was focused on his arm.

"Yeah, fine," he said casually. "I just slept in a weird position."

Al nodded. He didn't seem entirely convinced, but that didn't really matter.

"So, what're we gonna do today?" Ed yawned. Then he stopped in the middle of his arm-rolling.

"Really," Ed continued in wonder. "What the heck are we supposed to do now?" he was referring to the fact that he pretty much spent all his days in the library, or on missions from a certain Colonel Bastard.

"Well, maybe we could just walk around Resembool for now? Maybe build up the strength in our new limbs?" Al suggested.

"Sounds good enough for me," Ed answered with a shrug, swinging off the bed to get dressed.

* * *

_Midday_

* * *

Ed stopped at the cemetery's entrance.

"Brother…" Al murmured. Ed's face had taken on that shadowy quality that only went into effect when this subject was brought to his mind. His face was shadowy quite often. Ed stared into the field for a long time, lips pursed.

"Do you wanna head home?" Ed asked softly. "It's getting colder…"

"No, Brother," Al responded automatically. "Lets visit Mom first."

Ed nodded. He straightened himself and walked inside, Al trailing after him. Ed kneeled in front of the grave.

_Trisha Elric_

_1878 - 1904_

Ed stared at it, and Al kneeled next to him, trying to ignore the shouts of complaint from his didn't visit the grave as much as Brother; he never could bring himself, and he also knew that Ed needed the time to mourn.

Ed suddenly smiled at the grave. "We got our bodies back."

Al was about to respond when he realized Ed wasn't talking to him.

"We finally corrected our mistake, mom."

Al looked at the grave and put in a few shy words of his own. "And I really like having a human body."

They went on like that, switching off on short phrases, for quite a while, until Ed looked at the sky.

"Oh, it's already getting late. Mom, we're going off now."

Al nodded, and placed a few last words onto her grave, like flowers. "I love you."

Ed hesitated as he got up, turning back towards the stone. His eyes softened as he echoed Al.

"I love you."

* * *

_Night_

* * *

"We're home," Ed called brashly. The lights were almost all off, and nobody had responded.

"The hell?" he grumbled, looking around. "Where'r Granny and Winry?"

"I think I heard something about them going to the store," Al mused. "I would've thought they'd be back by now."

"Oh, hey, they left out some apple juice," Ed said brightly. "I thought we'd run out."

Al squinted at the jug in the dim light. It was small and had a strange shape to it. Al watched uncertainly as Ed poured some in a glass.

"I'm thirsty," he complained. "I've been walking around all day and man…" he swirled the amber liquid in his cup. "Hey Al, how much do you want to bet I can drink this whole glass in five seconds?"

"I dunno Brother. It seems like a pretty big amount. I'd bet you…" he thought for a second. "Ten bucks."

Ed made a face. "Ten, huh? You've never been much of a gambler." he shrugged and grabbed the glass. "Here we go." he raised it to his lips and drank half of it before his body registered something amiss. His eyes widened, but he was too proud to stop, and so he drank the whole thing before slamming it down on the table hard enough to shatter it, then breaking into a fit of coughs.

"Brother?" Al said in surprise.

"W-what the _fuck_ is that?!" Ed spluttered.

Al could only watched, stunned, as Ed reached for the jug and furiously read it's cover, then burst out into laughter.

"Holy shit, Al, this isn't apple juice, it's fucking _whiskey_!"

"W-huh?!"

"This has an alcohol percentage of forty. And I'm not even of legal age. Christ!"

"Brother, isn't that bad for you?!"

"Shit," he said, and kept laughing while Al repeatedly called his name in concern.


	3. Chapter 3

_Morning_

* * *

Ed awoke with a start, his mouth opening, the scream already choking him. It felt like a ball in his throat, he needed to spit it out, it had to fucking _leave_.

Then he turned and realized there was no suit of armor there to comfort him, because he was _sleeping_. Al was sleeping, for the love of God, and Ed would be damned to wake him up; so he choked back that infuriating rock and took deep breaths. Ironically, the fact that Al wasn't awake to comfort him was comforting in itself. Al was there, every night, Ed felt so damn grateful for it; but also extremely guilty. Al should be sleeping peacefully, not hovering over him, unable to rest. So Ed squeezed his eyes shut and dealt with the raging agony of his mind. His breaths shook and he wanted to scream so bad, but he would not, he could not, he absolutely refused to.

Then he heard Al cry out.

That noise was so jarring that Ed was up and next to Al's bed before his mind processed what his body was doing.

"Al?" Ed gasped. But Al was still asleep, his face tightened. It suddenly all made sense, and he was struck with how unfair it was.

"Kid just got his body back two days ago, dammit, and you're already doing this to him?" he muttered to nobody in particular. "Al, hey, it's just a dream."

Ed, having never done this before, felt a little awkward at it. Ed tended to flail and scream at his nightmares; the fact that Al hadn't woken up yet probably meant he was deep into his dream. Or whatever. Ed didn't know jack shit about psychology; all he knew was that Al had to wake up _now._

"_Brother!" _Al suddenly jerked up and Ed gripped his shoulders. Al threw out his arm and latched it onto Ed's right. Ed winced at how tightly he gripped it; the muscles groaned in protest, but he managed to pant "Al! Al, hey, it's just a dream—"

"Brother?" Al whispered, his arm shaking slightly. "Brother…"

"It's fine. It's okay."

Al started shaking uncontrollably. "What just—what—"

Ed's heart ached for him. Al had little experience with dreams; he must've thought that it was really happening throughout the whole thing.

"Just a dream," Ed repeated softly.

"T-thats what they're…?" Al trailed off. "Brother, you—every night—how did you—?"

"Don't worry about it. What happened?"

"You…It was just…a recap of _that _night…except you were the one who lost your…"

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want." Ed was mostly using tactics that Al had used on him; but oddly enough, some of this was coming naturally. All he wanted was to just protect Al.

"Okay," Al murmured. He repeated that twice, just kind of staring into the distance, as the shivers slowly died down. "Brother, did you have a dream too?"

Ed paused. "Well, yeah, I guess."

"I should've been th—"

"No, you were exactly where you were supposed to be," Ed cut him off gently. "It really wasn't as bad as usual."

"Think…think they're gonna get better for you? Since I have a real body now?"

"I don't know if that's how it works. But maybe." Ed honestly had to admit, as guilty as it made him feel, that he was a bit glad. Reliving those awful moments, every damn night, it was enough to drive anyone mad.

"Brother, do you want to…can you please…stay here?" he asked tremulously.

"'Course, Al."

Ed awkwardly hopped into bed with him, and Al slowly wrapped his arm around him.

"It's warm," he whispered, so quiet Ed could hardly hear, before they faded back off into sleep, this time dreamless.

* * *

_Midday_

* * *

_Three hundred eighty-four…three hundred eighty-five…three hundred eighty-fucking-six…_

Edward Elric tapped his foot in an irregular beat, wondering if it was actually, humanly possible to die of boredom. He worked out the equations in his mind, briefly entertained before realizing he lost his place.

_Fucking hell. One…two…three…_

He glanced at the blank door, waiting. After what felt like another hundred years, the doctor walked into the room with a somber expression.

"Well?" Ed replied before the man had even closed the door.

"He's awake. You can visit him now."

"Fucking finally," Ed ground out under his breath, getting up. He nearly tripped; his flesh leg was completely asleep, humming with pins and needles. He swore again and massaged it, limping awkwardly after the white door. He opened it and there was Colonel Bastard himself, sitting upright in his bed wearing a lost expression.

"Who's there?" he asked cautiously, lifting his head to face some spot around Ed's general area.

"Relax, asshole," Ed snapped. "It's just me."

Mustang's face brightened for a nanosecond before being rearranged into his usual disdainful mask. "Oh, wonderful. I was hoping for the Lieutenant."

"Sorry, you're stuck with me." Ed flipped him off, despite the fact Mustang couldn't see it. "Geez, you haven't been doing anything but sitting in a damn hospital, yet you sleep for a goddamn _century! _I was waiting the whole friggin' time outside!"

Roy raised an eyebrow and Ed mentally kicked himself. "I'm only here 'cause Winry made me," he added quickly.

"Of course. I wouldn't expect anything else from Edward-never-obeys-orders-Elric."

Ed's face heated up. "Are you fucking implying I _wanted _to wait for a hundred years outside your stupid hospital room just so I could yell at your sorry ass? You're such a damn bastard."

"Didn't I tell you it's not nice to call a blind man a bastard?"

"And didn't _I _tell you I'd call your blind ass whatever I wanted?" Ed huffed, moving around him to sit on the mattress. Mustang flinched at the shift.

"Calm down, I'm just sitting on your damn bed." Mustang didn't respond for a while, he just sat there, staring off into space. Ed didn't say anything either, he just observed the man lying in the hospital bed. Once his eyes had burned bright with the fire he spent his life cultivating; but now they were a murky swamp, a field of mud. Ed wondered how he'd get to see emotion from this man ever again, when the life in his eyes had been snuffed out. No, that wasn't true; there was still a faint glow there. Nowhere near the inferno it had once been, but still flickering like a soft candlelight.

"You know, I may be blind, but I can feel you staring at me."

Ed quickly looked away. "Bullshit."

"Not really. Your glare tended to burn people."

"Says the fucking _Flame Alchemist_." he pronounced his title like it was a burden, spitting it into Mustang's face.

"I'm serious. It's a pain in the ass that I'll never see you again."

Ed froze, unsure how to respond. Then he slowly said, "Bastard."

Mustang laughed and closed his flickering eyes, sinking back into the pillow.

* * *

_Night_

* * *

"I don't want to be here," Ed grumbled for the fiftieth time that night.

"Oh, come on, Ed," Winry replied lightly. "It's fun."

"Fun, right. Like eating glass."

Windy shot him a withering look and went off to talk to Paninya or something. They all were at a pre-Christmas party, full of friends and acquaintances. Ed was tired and hated parties, so he just stayed under the doorframe, sipping orange juice. Occasionally, a group of people would glance his way, grin widely, point, and whisper.

_Yeah, yeah, _Ed thought. _The Fullmetal Alchemist is at a Christmas party. Point and laugh._

But soon Ed realized that their eyes weren't full of awe and surprise; they were teasing. Smirking.

_The hell? Did someone put a 'kick me' sticker on my back or something?_

Paninya and Winry soon reappeared, talking intensely about engineering. Paninya caught his eye and suddenly froze, a grin climbing up her face. Winry kept walking until she was next to Ed, and noticed her friend wasn't following. Suddenly, it seemed like everyone in the party stopped and stared.

"Paninya," Winry called. "Whats wrong?"

"Look up," she said with barely suppressed laughter. Winry did so and frowned; and then her face went red.

"What?" Ed grumbled, exasperated. He looked up and to his horror, a small green-and-red plant stared back at him. The entire party gave a collective _Ooooh _and stared, waiting.

"I—um—" Winry started.

"There's no getting out of it," Paninya sang. "It's tradition!"

Everyone _oohed _again.

Ed's face went red as a beet when Winry slowly looked down and at him. Ed opened and closed his mouth like a fish, trying to say something, but he couldn't think.

_I get to kiss—I mean, HAVE to kiss Winry?!_

Ed's mind completely stopped as Winry moved closer, ever so slightly. Their audience was spellbound.

_This is not how I fucking envisioned our first—I mean, my first kiss!_

"Well," Winry remarked, "Let's get it over with, Ed."

"Over with," Ed echoed stupidly. "Uh, right, yeah."

He was so unprepared for the hug that came next that he tensed up like a piece of cardboard. And then her lips were on his. He didn't hear the roar from the crowd or anything, he didn't feel or see or smell a single thing except _Winry. _Holy shit, Winry was kissing him. Was this real? Was he fucking real? Was anything real, at this point? He had no clue whatsoever because _Winry was fucking kissing him!_

It was over in what felt like a million years and also half a second. He sat there like a dumbfounded frog, his mind reduced to mush. He didn't know what to do, so he slowly raised his hand to his lips, as if verifying that it had really happened.

"God, Ed, it's like kissing a rock," Winry teased. Then she melted back into the crowd.

Meanwhile, Ed managed the strength to move away from the mistletoe before he flopped on the couch, hands still on his burning face, preserving the kiss that he still wasn't sure really happened.


	4. Chapter 4

_Morning_

* * *

Ed woke up groggily, trying to catch the last wisps of his dream. It had been one of the rare nights that his brain decided to give him a silly fantasy, and he would be _pissed _if he couldn't remember it. He was just reaching the conclusion that it had to do with elves and trains, when he noticed that Al wasn't in the other bed. Panic spiked up in his chest. Where could his little brother have gone? To the bathroom, maybe? He could've just wanted a drink of water. But Ed knew from experience that leaving things up to chance always ended up fruitless at best.

"Al?" Ed whispered. "Hey, Al, are you there?"

As if in response, a gust of wind ruffled the blankets. _Why is the window open? Al could get sick that way! And in the state he's in…a cold could kill him!_

Ed tossed the sheets off him, suddenly fully awake. His steel leg felt like ice, and he felt another pang of worry for Al. He searched the room briefly, then went outside into the hall.

"Al…?" Ed called periodically, searching the house. Again, he wondered, where could Al have possibly gone off to? It wasn't like he had the ability to get very far without help. Ed heard a clank and jumped.

He snuck into the kitchen where the sound came from, almost nervous to see what he'd find; and to his surprise, Al was there, precariously dangling the apple pie they'd received yesterday on his fingertips. He silently laid it down on the counter and removed the tinfoil so quietly it was unnerving. Ed was actually entranced until Al started cutting himself a slice. Ed jumped out and shouted "AL!"

Al leapt a foot in the air and gave an undignified squeal.

"_Brother!" _Al said in exasperation. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Look who's talking," Ed retorted hotly. "Did you think it was fun to wake up, freezing and you nowhere in sight? What were you doing?"

Al looked down and mumbled something.

"I can't hear you."

"I just wanted to feel the wind," Al repeated, louder, a hint of frustration in his tone. Ed was taken aback.

"You…opened the window in the middle of the _ten-degree _night," Ed started slowly. "Then went to eat apple pie when your body isn't fully used to solids?"

Al bit his lip, but didn't respond. Ed tried a different direction.

"Al, you know you can't get a cold. You know you have to take care of your new body. Why would you do something so reckless?"

His eyes flared up for a moment, then the fire died down. "Reckless," he murmured softly. "Opening a window and eating pie. Reckless."

Ed huffed in annoyance. "Al, it's reckless for _you. _Come on, you know it was a bad idea. Just admit—"

"The wind felt nice," he went on. "Even the cold wasn't bad. It was uncomfortable. I felt scared. I knew I could catch a cold. But…"

Ed tried to interrupt, but Al just kept going over him. "…It was the first time I could worry about things like that. It was the first time in so many years I could think it was cold outside, or I could get sick, or feel the wind. So I guess I felt reckless. If I could expose myself to the wind, I thought I could eat some pie. Just a little. Not even a whole slice." Al gave a sigh of resignation. "It was stupid. I'm sorry, Brother."

Ed was, no pun intended, blown away by the speech. He didn't really think about how Al perceived things. And even though he always acted with Al's best interests at mind, he had to factor in what his little brother _wanted_ as well.

"Me too," Ed replied softly. "Come on, lets get back to bed."

* * *

_Midday_

* * *

"I…what…"

Ed hadn't even known there had been this many _people _in Resembool, let alone cats. He stared, dumbfounded, as his little brother tried to balance several of them in his thin arms, his mouth spread with joy as he pet their soft fur.

"Can we keep them, Brother? Please?"

And so began the argument that the brothers had since day one.

"No, Al, we can't keep all those fucking cats!"

"But _Brother! _They were cold and alone!"

"You found that many fucking stray cats? I bet some of their owners are looking for them now!"

"But look how cute this one is! See, he—oh, Brother, he just meowed at you. He loves you!"

"That cat probably isn't even fucking capable of love at first sight!"

"Watch your language, Brother! You're scaring them!"

"_Scaring them?!" _Ed asked incredulously.

"Yes! Cats have feelings too, you know!" Al pouted, still holding two kittens in his arms. Many of them had managed to wriggle out of his grip and pour out the still-open door. Finally, one fire-orange kitten squeezed itself away until Al just had one in his grip. This one actually looked like a stray; pathetic, tiny, and ungroomed. Al looked at it, his eyes softening as he pet it.

"I can _feel _it, Brother," Al whispered softly. "I could feel all of them! I could feel them try to wriggle away, and I could feel their fur, and I could hug them to keep them warm!" He squeezed the black kitten a bit tighter, much to its chagrin. It let out a pathetic mew and he loosened his grip slightly.

Ed immediately softened at the sight of Al excitedly going on a tangent about the stupid cat, but he still didn't budge.

"You have to let him go, Al. I'm sure someone else would take—"

"Oh, just let him keep the darn cat," a voice called.

"Winry?!" Ed spluttered, turning around. Sure enough, the blond mechanic was walking down the stairs, an indifferent expression on her face. Clearly, she didn't know how many times this situation had occurred.

"Really? I can keep him?" Al squealed happily. Ed made a groan that somehow conveyed his exasperation, confusion, and weary acceptance all at the same time.

"I don't know what Granny will say," Winry said with a shrug. "But I'm sure she'd let the little guy stay."

"Really? Really? Yes! Finally! I'm so glad you were here, Winry!" Al jumped up and down, hugging the kitten to his face. Winry looked surprised at how excited he was, unaware of the fact that Ed had deprived Al of this for so many years. It gave Ed a pang of guilt; but perhaps it was for the best. After all, he hadn't seen his brother this happy for a long time.

* * *

_Night_

* * *

Ed tried not to doze off. The sound of rain was so peaceful, the sound of it drumming against the roof, dripping down the windowsill…but dammit, he had to take his shower before bed. Al was taking a hell of a long time. Not that Ed blamed him. Going four years without warm water was a good excuse to take _long _showers. Ed pressed his ear to the door. At least it sounded like the shower wasn't on, which meant he had already gotten out. Well, he couldn't really tell, not with the rain pounding down.

Several minutes passed and Ed got a little worried. Had he gotten stuck somehow? Why hadn't he called out for Ed? He couldn't hear any movement inside the bathroom…

"Al? Al, I'm coming in."

Ed pushed the door open carefully, surprised to find it unlocked and even more surprised to find no resistance—no squeaks of surprise or even a noise of acknowledgement. His initial surprise melted into shocked fear when he saw two key things: one, Alphonse was not in the bathroom. Two, there was no sign that he'd even started the shower at all. Ed had _seen _his little brother enter the bathroom. The only way he could've gotten out would be…

Ed raced to the window, pissed and terrified beyond all comprehension when he saw it wide open. The floor was covered in small puddles. He thrust his head out and yelled for Al, the wind and water eating up his words before they went far.

Then he saw him; it would be hard to miss his flowing, golden hair. Al was running around in the rain, arms spread out, making airplane noises. Fucking _airplane noises. _He was in the freezing cold rain, scaring his big brother to death, and he was pretending to be an _airplane? _

"AL, DAMMIT!" Ed shouted, much louder than before. Al stopped dead, eyes raising up and fixing on the window. Ed could practically hear him thinking "oh, shit".

"What the FUCK are you doing?!" Ed screamed at him. "Get _back _here!"

Al lowered his arms, still staring at Ed. And, with a touch of a rebellious smile, Al raised them back up and ran around in circles, this time making truck noises. Ed seethed in frustration. It was as if Al was nothing more than a five year old running off from his father. His behavior certainly mimicked that of a toddler. Without a second thought, Ed hoisted himself over the windowsill and landed in the muddy grass below, a jolt shooting up his legs. Al froze in surprise; he knew Ed couldn't stand getting wet.

"_Al," _Ed hissed with all the authority he could muster. Then Al smiled and ran off.

"Catch me if you can," Al called over his shoulder. Ed was completely struck let out a huff of exasperation and chased after his brother.

"If I rust my leg, Winry's gonna kill me," Ed ground out. "Didn't I fucking warn him about colds this morning?!"

Alphonse had adored showers and such when he first felt them, but this was borderline. Ed felt nothing but fear and searing, seething, explosive anger. _Did Al have no common sense whatsoever?!_

Ed finally managed to stop Al, taking care not to tackle him. He pulled on Al's wrist with slightly more force than necessary.

"Are you kidding me, Al?! Are you _fucking kidding me?!" _Ed roared. "Don't _do _that! I was so worried—you can't—didn't I just warn you about staying away from the cold?! Al, you could get sick! You could—you could—_die, _dammit!"

Al looked at his brother with surprise in his eyes, not expecting that Ed would be so shaken up. "I…I'm sorry, Brother. I didn't think I'd scare you that much. I just wanted to feel what it's like…"

Ed gritted his teeth. "You couldn't wait until a spring rain for that?! Al, we have to get inside _now. _You can't catch a cold, okay?! You can't!"

"Ed," Al said suddenly. Ed paused. Al only called him by his first name when he was serious. "Ed, I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking. When I think back on it, I…" Al winced. "That was really dumb of me. And mean. I'm sorry."

Ed sucked in his breath, surprised by the sudden well of emotion. He hugged Al tightly. "Fine, godammit, lets just get back inside."

* * *

**There's a chapter of Al doing dumb things. I based it around the idea that he was so excited to do everything with his new body that he throws common sense out the window, no pun intended. Sorry if it seems OOC; it's hard writing _Ed _being the sensible one for once. 8')**


End file.
